


the five times Makkachin worried (and the one time he didn't)

by thelittlenyx (Nyx_Aki)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Makkachin does not make it at the end I'm sorry and you have been warned, Makkachin is full of love like his owner, Makkachin's POV, Pet fic (Kind of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 15:20:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11923677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyx_Aki/pseuds/thelittlenyx
Summary: Makkachin loves his master, his happy, precarious, doting master that smells of ice even when it’s summer and is as fleeting as the snow itself, always going, but also always returning to him unfailingly, smelling like the cold but radiating the warmth of the sun.Makkachin loves his human, his Viktor, and his happiness is most important to him in the whole wide world.





	the five times Makkachin worried (and the one time he didn't)

**_One._ **

Makkachin loves his master, his happy, precarious, doting master that smells of ice even when it’s summer and is as fleeting as the snow itself, always going, but also always returning to him unfailingly, smelling like the cold but radiating the warmth of the sun.

Makkachin loves his master, and thus when he leaves for places unknown every time the sun rises, it worries him so.

Makkachin may not understand the strange, complicated workings of human whims and workings, but he knows that wherever his human goes to, leaving Makkachin alone in a silent and empty home, is important to him.

 And thus despite the heavy price of loneliness to pay, he sits and waits for his human to return to him, bringing with him the snow and the sun, and plenty of hugs and pets.

His human always returns.

Makkachin loves his human, his Viktor, and his happiness is most important to him in the whole wide world.

 

**_Two._ **

One day, his human does not return.

Makkachin waits and waits at the door, but there is no clumping sound of boots on the gravel, or the smell of the Outside as the door swings open for his human to rush in and enfold him in a tangle of arms and fur and happiness.

Instead, there is nothing.

Makkachin whines, softly. His Viktor always returns to him. No matter how far he’ll go, his master is like the little swallow that traverses the seas- he always returns home, to his Makkachin.

But today he doesn’t.

And Makkachin knows that something is wrong.

A whimper tears from his throat as he scrabbles fruitlessly at the door, where he can smell the air from the Outside shining through. He wants out- he wants to find his human, to make sure that his human is safe and not hurt and afraid, somewhere. He is aching with desperation and worry- he will not rest until he can smell, and see, and touch his master.

Makkachin is terrified.

Finally, the door opens, and Makkachin leaps up in delight- but it is not his human. It is another human- an older one, he guesses, with a slightly balding head and wrinkled hands that smell faintly of beef and cabbage. Makkachin smells him, and recognizes the scent of this new human, carried faintly on Viktor’s clothing as he surrounds him in a hug and an enthusiastic “I missed you!”.

Makkachin is confused. Where is his human? He barks, hoping the strange human can give him answers.

To his surprise, the human hefts him up, and carries him Outside, into a solid black car that smells of leather and flowers. The car begins moving, and Makkachin is extremely befuddled- _where are we going? Are we going to see my human?_

He tries to relay all this to the Older Human, but is merely asked to hush and sit nicely.

They stop at a white building- Makkachin crinkles his nose at the smell of disinfectant. Under it, he can taste something else in the air. The scent of sickness.

Makkachin has only smelled something similar to this before, and that was when his human dragged him to the vet for the dreaded shots. Is this a human’s vet place?

Is his human sick?

Makkachin’s claws scrabble against the polished tiles as Older Human speaks briefly to another human smelling of medicine and soap. Then he is being led, up a narrow corridor, and into a room, and he can smell-

“Makkachin!”

A barrage of delighted yips escape his throat as he leaps onto the bed his Viktor is on, fully prepared for hugs and licks. Before he lands, however, he is caught mid-jump by Older Human, who sets him firmly on the floor.

“ _Nyet.”_ he instructs firmly. “ _Ostavat'sya.”_

Makkachin knows the instructions, but he still strains to touch his human- it has been too, too long, and he longs to greet his master in proper canine fashion, which entailed smothering him in licks and lots of doting. But he cannot, and his master too, seems confined to the bed- he doesn’t seem to be able to move.

“Makkachin, I can’t come home tonight.” his human starts, gently. “I hurt myself at the rink today, and while the doctors say the sprain won’t hurt me permanently, they’re keeping me here overnight, to make sure I don’t hurt myself more. You stay with Yakov. Alright? _”_

Makkachin whines. His human’s voice is as soothing as his presence. Makkachin wants him more than the treats in the world, the walks in the sun. He wants to stay by his human’s side for as long as forever would let them be.

But forever isn’t a long time, apparently, as he is taken away again, whining and whimpering, by Older Human, out of the room and the white building, and away into the black leather-and-perfume car.

Longer is the wait by the door of Older Human’s house, as he lies there dreaming of home, where his master always is.

But no matter how far the swallow is, it always returns home, and the next day, he is reunited in endless joy with his Viktor.

Makkachin isn’t allowed to jump on him, but it’s made up for by his master’s prolonged stay at home, where Older Human-Yakov, Makkachin learns- and some other humans smelling of ice and various foods show up to visit, and give him pets.

 

**_Three._ **

As the seasons come and go, Makkachin grows older, little by little, and so does his master.

His master still goes out every day, and returns to Makkachin unfailingly. There are times when he leaves for a few days, but Makkachin is older now, and wiser, and knows that wherever his Viktor goes he will come back home, to Makkachin.

As time passes, however, Makkachin senses a change in his human, as slow as frost creeping over the lake. Makkachin does not know time, but he knows his human, and he knows that something isn’t completely right.

It starts when he begins bringing home something round and shining.

From smelling like ice, his Viktor now feels like ice. He still smiles and hugs Makkachin, and his love does not change, but Makkachin can detect something else in him, like a change in the breeze when fall becomes winter.

If his human is the sun, then clouds have gathered around him, obscuring his light and his warmth which once poured forth from him like an endless stream. His smiles no longer reach his eyes, and once so luminous and alight with laughter, his eyes are now dark and downcast, like the sky before the snow falls. His hugs, while as tight and adoring as ever, feel different- where they once gave comfort, they now seemed to seek it.

Makkachin does not know whether his human knows his own change. He does not know how to help him, and that makes him sad- he does not want his human to feel dark and quiet, he wants his human shining like the sun, like the strange golden things he brings back occasionally and encloses in a glass case. Makkachin wants him to laugh again.

As the time passed, his Viktor seemed to slip even further into the darker place of his mind, and Makkachin feels like he’s looking at the stars being swallowed by the night.

He does not know how to help his master, and he worries for him.

One day, his master returns, and with him he brings all the force of the sun and the summer, his smile dancing around his lips and _alight in his eyes_ , and he keeps talking, talking of a human (his name sounds like the cat-smelling angry human?) who stole his breath and put the stars in the sky, and Makkachin begins to think maybe, all is not lost.

 

**_Four._ **

Makkachin does not understand human whims, and he certainly doesn’t understand this one, where his master just abruptly packs his bags, and sets off (bringing Makkachin along! Is this a dream?) into a strange land of snow and winter, where _nothing_ smells like home and everything is a new adventure hidden in the corners and in the streets.

Here the lake is bigger, with great foamy waves that crash against its sandy shore- so fun to run on! - and _salty-_ Makkachin has never tasted water like this in all his life. This new world is a wonder, a treasure trove of excitement and surprises, and Makkachin wants to learn them all.

Above all the new things he loves, however, is the shy, warm human that smells faintly of pork and rice, and whom his Viktor smiles unfailingly for whenever he is near. This human, he can see, cleared the clouds away from the dimming sun of his human’s heart, and once more ignited it in a way Makkachin has seen and yet not seen before.

He learns on the first night that the name of this human is _Yuuri,_ and that his human loves him almost as much as he loves Makkachin.

So he does not understand why, on the first night they were there, his human hugs him close and weeps quietly into his curly pelt.

Lying together in the darkness, with his human’s tears wet on his fur, Makkachin whimpers slightly and tries to lick the moisture off his master’s face. Crying is for humans who are sad, but why is his master sad? Isn’t Yuuri, his human’s human, here? Should he not be happy? Where is Yuuri to comfort him?

Makkachin struggles to understand all this, and while he does not comprehend, he worries. Humans are complicated, strange, creatures, with more facets to them than any other living thing he’s met, and he does not know why they feel as they do, sometimes.

 But he knows to comfort his human when he cries, and he tries his best, cuddling in close to his master until his tears subside and both of them slip into a slumber, his Viktor holding him close all the while.

Tomorrow, Makkachin hopes, Yuuri will make him smile again.

 

**_Five._ **

_Agony._

Makkachin is on his side on the cold, grey table of the vet’s.

_Agony._

He struggles and rasps for breath, air that doesn’t come somehow.

_Viktor._

He wonders if he is about to die.

_Viktor._

He hopes that if he does go, his master won’t be alone.

He feels something sharp inserted into his foreleg, and everything goes dark.

***

The smell of his human surrounds him, and Makkachin blearily wonders if he is dead.

Someone scratches him behind the ears, soothingly, and he thumps his tail when he realizes it’s none other than his beloved Viktor.

His human seems to realize he’s awake, and he immediately leans in to kiss him on the head. “Makkachin,” he whispers, and his voice is hoarse with relief and pent-up stress. “Makkachin, you silly dog. Didn’t I tell you not to touch the steamed buns?”

Makkachin whimpers weakly. He _was_ hungry, and they were just there within reach. He didn’t like food going to waste.

His human scruffs his back, his ears, and presses his head to Makkachin’s own. It’s then Makkachin realizes he’s alone. Where is his Yuuri?

It’s then he realizes how stressed his master smells- he smells of fear and distress, of tension, and he whines. Viktor shouldn’t be here. He should be with his Yuuri, wherever he is.

His Viktor smells of worry, and Makkachin worries too- for the first time, not just for his human, but for his human’s human as well.

When they both finally meet, melting into one another’s embrace, Makkachin knows it’s going to be alright.

 

**_(the one time he doesn’t worry.)_ **

Yuuri moves with Makkachin and his master back to their old home, and there Makkachin can see the change they wrought on each other as clear as the sparkles on the water of the lake.

His human now shines brighter than the winter sun- he is like fire, burning bright with warmth and newfound love, not just for Makkachin but for _his_ human, too. Yuuri is a mellower flame- he shines just as brightly, but he is gentler, and the both of them together create a spark and a light that shines brilliant wherever they go.

His human is no longer dark and lonely, and Makkachin rejoices in that.

But as their fires blaze, Makkachin can feel his fading.

He knows that he can burn not much longer.

And when one day he tries to rise from his dog bed, only to have his legs tremble and give way from under him, sending him collapsing heavily onto his pillow, he knows it’s almost going out.

His human is desperate, frantic with sorrow- Makkachin wants to tell him that it’s fine. He wants to tell him not to be sad, that he wants his human to give him that beautiful warm smile one more time, but he can’t. He has never been able to talk to his human, and in this time, it saddens him greatly.

He lies on the cool metal of the vet’s table, hearing only the faint sounds of the humans conversing. And then, they’re both there.

Viktor and Yuuri.

Viktor is crying, and Makkachin wants to comfort him so badly, but he knows he can’t anymore. He is upset for a moment- who will stay with him when he’s gone? Who will tell him that it’s alright?

And then he sees Yuuri. His arm is around Viktor, and while his eyes never leave Makkachin, he holds Viktor in a tight embrace, like the one at the airport so long ago. He too, is crying, but he remains solidly by his human’s side, and he never once leaves.

Makkachin knows, then, that his human will be fine.

Yuuri was always the answer.

As Viktor and Yuuri hold on to Makkachin and each other, in a tight, neverending embrace, Makkachin silently gives his Viktor over to Yuuri’s care.

As his fire flares one last time, Makkachin is content.

**Author's Note:**

> Ostavat'sya: stay 
> 
> this is done at 3am why am I giving myself feels at 3am
> 
> This is basically a oneshot that I did to break myself out of my writer's block, and I may have gotten myself carried away. Thank you for reading!
> 
> I hope Makkachin is granted immortality in the movie or something. 
> 
> you can find me at http://little-lapis-lazuline.tumblr.com/


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